Throbbing Gristle - Greatest Hits

Style: Industrial, Experimental.
Similar artists: Clock DVA, Psychic TV, Coil.
Recording year: Mute Records, 1990.

Throbbing Gristle and their front man Genesis P-orrrige have been creating and then confounding the pop culture dialectic since 1976. Genesis P-orridige not only invented industrial music but also founded the first independent record label to promote it. If you listen to bands such as Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, or KMFDM, you owe a hand of gratitude to Throbbing Gristle; they invented the genre.

Abrasive, aggressive, and antagonistic, Britain's Throbbing Gristle pioneered industrial music; exploring death, mutilation, fascism, and degradation amid a thunderous cacophony of mechanical noise, tape loops, extremist anti-melodies, and bludgeoning beats, the group's cultural terrorism -- the "wreckers of civilization," one tabloid called them -- raised the stakes of artistic confrontation to new heights, combating all notions of commerciality and good taste with a maniacal fervor.

Formed in London in the autumn of 1975, Throbbing Gristle consisted of vocalist/ringleader Genesis P-Orridge, his then-lover, guitarist Cosey Fanni Tutti, tape manipulator Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson, and keyboardist Chris Carter. A performance art troupe as much as a band, their early live shows -- each starting with a punch clock and running exactly 60 minutes before the power to the stage was cut -- threatened obscenity laws; during their notorious premiere gig, P-Orridge even mounted an art exhibit consisting entirely of used tampons and soiled diapers.

From their first performances in 1976 to their last gig in San Francisco in 1981 (recorded and released as "Mission Of Dead Souls"), they challenged and threatend so-called "normal", society - denounced from the floor of the House of Commons as "Wreckers of Civilisation" as the Coum Transmissions "Prostitution" art show in London's ICA (at which TG played their third show) came close to causing riots and set the stage for the punk revolution.

Musically, they were extreme and uncompromising, using technology to make anti-music, which redefined music for all time. Their experimentation led them to pioneer sampling and looping techniques adopted by many of those who came after.

They split in 1981, with Genesis and Peter forming Psychic TV (and Peter later forming Coil) and Chris and Cosey becoming, well, Chris & Cosey. However, they came back together 23 years later in 2004 to plan an ill-fated weekend festival, which became a one-off recording session in London when the festival fell through, releasing a limited TGNOW album of the recordings.

Fields Of Haze... Underground for all.

Cabaret Voltaire - Three Mantras

Genere: Rock/Pop.
Style: Industrial, Electronic, Experimental.
Similar artists: Coil, Skinny Puppy, Foetus.
Recording year: Mute Records, 1980.
 
 

Though they're one of the most important groups in the history of industrial and electronic music, Cabaret Voltaire are sometimes forgotten in the style's timeline — perhaps because they continued recording long after other luminaries (Throbbing Gristle, Suicide, Chrome) called it quits. Also related to the fact is that CV rarely stayed in one place for long, instead moving quickly from free-form experimentalism through arty white-boy funk and on to house music in the late '80s and electronica the following decade. The band, formed by guitarist Richard H. Kirk, bassist Stephen Mallinder, and tape manipulator Chris Watson, were influenced by the Dadaist movement (whence came their name) and as such, came closer to performance art than music during many of their early performances. After several years of recording with no contract, the group signed to the newly formed Rough Trade label in 1978 and began releasing records that alternated punk-influenced chargers with more experimental pieces incorporating tape loops and sampled effects.

It would actually be more accurate to call this album 'Two Mantras,' given that it consists of two sidelong pieces, "Eastern Mantra" and "Western Mantra," which gives the still-then-a-trio a chance to expand its avant-electronic-grunge into trancier realms. Mallinder's abstract ranting is in full effect from the start of "Eastern," talking about bodies in the streets and the like, and from there things move into a rough realm of strange art, Voltaire-style. The combination of Kirk's guitar and Mallinder's bass work here is practically that of Krautrock/motorik, Mallinder playing a steady, quietly varying series of notes while Kirk throws in a variety of crumbling squalls. His work is sometimes vaguely Arabic in flavor, which combined with the length of the song, the hollow drum machine punch driving everything along, and Watson's piercing keyboards is not merely interesting but helps to demonstrate, in a subtle way, some of the future influences on artists like Muslimgauze. The alien feeling at the core of Cabaret Voltaire remains, though, strong and strange as always. "Western Mantra" has the basic trio, plus guests on percussion and found-sound tapes, doing something far more outre. A heavily-treated vocal loop underlaid by a subtle keyboard drone starts the song, interspersed with samples of Arabic and Israeli pop music and various bell sounds — the roots for Muslimgauze in particular really show here! Kirk's crisp playing floats in some time later, stepping in and out of the mix but never predominating, while Mallinder's bass is barely detectable. The occasional bursts of low, clattering pounding, with cymbals if not with drums in the background, combined with the continuing series of song samples, Arabic wind instruments and snippets recorded in a Jerusalem market, heightens the enveloping, striking feel of the piece and release as a whole.

 
 

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Front 242 - Official Version

Genere: Pop/Rock.

Style: Industrial, Electronic, Alternative.

Similar artists: Front Line Assembly, SPK, Consolidated.

Recording year: Wax Trax, 1987.

One of the most consistent industrial bands of the 1980s, even though they regularly pursued a more electronic variant of the sound that swept into vogue during the '90s, Front 242 were the premier exponent of European electronic body music. Initially, the group was just a duo when formed in October 1981 in Brussels; programmers Patrick Codenys and Dirk Bergen recorded "Principles" and released the single on New Dance Records. A year later, programmer Daniel Bressanutti (aka Daniel B. Prothese) and lead vocalist Jean-Luc de Meyer joined as well; dubbed Front 242 because of the name's universal meaning and united connotations, the quartet debuted in 1982 with the single "U-Men" and album Geography, recorded for Red Rhino Europe Records (RRE).

On this amazing album, Front 242 came into its own, its brutal electrobeat now helping to fully define industrial in the broadest sense of the term. Daniel B and Codenys together whip out a series of chilling but always just danceable enough full body slams, showing an increased depth and sophistication in the overall arrangements, while 23 and de Meyer deliver their shouted and emotionless vocals with the force of full command. When the two share their vocals via traded-off lines or, often, simultaneous singing, the contrast between 23's slightly more breathless and de Meyer's sterner approach increases the overall appeal. The band's ear for vivisection by sampling reaches new heights: endless series of cries, random words, and more are looped and tweaked throughout nearly every song, a good example being the title word on "Aggressiva Due." Meanwhile, the sampled televangelist on "Angst" clearly paves the way for "Welcome to Paradise" a few years in the future. The two peaks of the album are its singles, both of which showcase equally gripping approaches.

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Borghesia - Resistance

Género: EBM / Industrial

Artistas similares: Qntal, à;Grumh, Laibach

Año de grabación: Wax Trax, 1989


Grupo esloveno, creado en Ljubljana en 1982. El grupo fue formado de los miembros de una compañía de teatro llamada 'Theatre FV-112/15'. Borghesia crea su música utilizando como fuente el imaginario de lo prohibido, lo calificado como taboo y la represión humana. Su sonido con frecuencia se compara a Front 242.

Borghesia se presentó en varios conciertos en Europa de 1988 a 1991, periodo durante el cual fueron ampliamente difundidos por revistas especializadas en Inglaterra y Alemania como NME, Melody Maker, New Life, Zillo, entre otras.

El álbum que en esta ocasión te presentamos en FOH pertenece a su época con 'Play it again Sam', la cual fue distribuido en Estados Unidos y Canadá por 'Wax Trax'.


Slovenian group, created in Ljubljana in 1982. The group was formed of the members of a called company of theater ' Theatre FV-112/15'. Borghesia creates its music using like source the imaginary one of the prohibited thing, described taboos and the human repression. Its sound frequently is compared to Front 242.

Borghesia appeared in several concerts in Europe from 1988 to 1991, period during which widely they were promoted by specialized magazines in England and Germany like NME, Melody Maker, New Life, Zillo, among others.

The album presented in this occasion by FOH belongs to time with ' Play it again Sam' Records, which was distributed in the United States and Canada by ' Wax Trax'.



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Front 242 - Tyranny for you

Género: Industrial, electro industrial

Artistas similares: Meat Beat Manifesto, KMFDM, Nitzer Ebb

Año de grabación: Sony, 1991.


Grupo formado en Bruselas, en el año 1981, cuando los programadores Patrick Codenys y Dirk Bergen se unieron para grabar y lanzar el disco Principles. Un año después, el programador Daniel Bressanutti (alias Daniel B. Prothese) y el vocalista Jean-Luc De Meyer se integran a la formación. El nombre de Front 242 es, según algunas explicaciones, dado al grupo por motivos políticos, basados en una resolución de la ONU, la 242, en la que Israel debía retirarse de los territorios ocupados de Palestina. Así su nombre viene a ser algo así como el Frente 242 que retira a Israel de Palestina, o interpretado según la ideología del grupo, sería el avance del débil sobre el fuerte. El cuarteto se presentó por primera vez en 1982 con el sencillo U-Men y el álbum Geography, grabado para Red Rhino Europe Records (RRE). Front 242 inició sus presentaciones en vivo poco después ese mismo año. Finalmente se sumó el percusionista Geoff Bellingham que luego fue reemplazado por un ex ayudante, Richard 23 (Richard Jonckheere). La clave de su éxito fue la combinación de influencias tecnológicas ya usadas por grupos en Alemania, pero con un toque de agresividad que daría inicio a un estilo enteramente nuevo, trabajado posteriormente por agrupaciones como Nitzer Ebb, Die Krupps. Skinny Puppy, Frontline Assembly, entre otros.


Group formed in Brussels, in 1981, when the programmers Patrick Codenys and Dirk Bergen were united to record and to send the Principles disc. A year later, the programmer Daniel Bressanutti (alias Daniel B. Prothese) and the singer Jean-Light De Meyer include to the formation. The name of Front 242 is, according to some explanations, gived to the group by political reasons, based on a resolution of the UN, the 242, in which Israel had to retire of the occupied territories of Palestine. Thus its name comes to be something as well as the Front 242 that retires to Israel of Palestine, or interpreted according to the ideology of the group, would be the advance of the weak one on the fort. The quartet appeared for the first time in 1982 with the simple U-Men and the Geography album, engraving for Red Rhino Europe Records (RRE). Front 242 live initiated its presentations shortly after that same year. Finally the percussionist Geoff Bellingham was added that soon was replaced by an ex- assistant, Richard 23 (Richard Jonckheere). The key of its success was the combination of technological influences already used by groups in Germany, but with a touch of aggressiveness that would give beginning to a entirely new style, worked later by groupings like Nitzer Ebb, Die Krupps. Skinny Puppy, Frontline Assembly, among others.


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Industrial - Music of the Shadows vol. 3

Compilación de hecha por la disquera K-tel en el año 2ooo, en ella como continuación de su serie 'music of the shadows', toca la ocasión para exponer un panorama del movimiento industrial y experimiental en un cd. Lo interesante de esta serie es que incluye varias bandas de diferentes compañías discográficas (Sire, Zoth Ommog, Projeckt, Metropolis).

En fin, una buena compilación tanto para los versados en el género, como para aquellos que quieren iniciarse en el género.


Compilation made by K-tel Records in 2ooo, it's following series ' Music of the shadows' , it is called on the occasion to set out a panorama of the industrial and experimiental movement in a CD. It's interesting that includes several bands of different record companies (Sire, Zoth Ommog, Projeckt, Metropolis).

Good compilation either as much for advanced in the genere, like for which they want to begin.

Tracklist:

1. Naïve - KMFDM
2. Leather Strip - Leæther Strip
3. Guilty - Gravity Kills
4. Longue Route - Young Gods
5. Burning Inside - Ministry
6. Chrome - Firebomb
7. Sex on Wheelz - My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
8. Join in the Chant - Nitzer Ebb
9. Dead Eyes Opened - Severed Heads
10. United - Throbbing Gristle
11. Paranoid - Apoptygma Berzerk
12. Fodder Song - Controlled Bleeding
13. Landslide - Cabaret Voltaire
14. Die in Winter - :wumpscut:
15. Vandaium I-Ching - Einstürzende Neubauten
16. Acid Tongue - Attrition

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